For my business I use Quick books online to keep track of my financials. I am quite happy with this online program.

What I feel I need is a program that we can access and track all the different projects we are working on. As a gallery and printer we are being commissioned months even year in advance and
keeping track of details on various fronts is getting to become tedious.

Does any one here use a program that two or more people can access , update and garner reports at a moments notice a complete snapshot where each project is. This program should be able to hold not only word documents but as well quotes and also folders which could contain marketing, JPEGs , drawings , layouts and such that are part of customers or special projects.
Almost like a huge journal that can be easily managed and seen.

hope this makes sense.

Bob

Milonian

1-Jun-2016, 13:49

Don't know if any of these are any good as I don't use them but we had similar when I worked in Financial Services. I am retired incidentally and have no affiliation with any of the programs or makers/manufacturers!
http://www.capterra.com/project-management-software/

jp

1-Jun-2016, 14:38

Check out google apps and try some of the 3rd party options out. These are web-based apps you can connect to your (and others) gmail accounts for collaboration. The upside of this is that it will integrate well with online calendar/scheduling/file storage/notifications, etc...

ghostcount

1-Jun-2016, 14:51

Try Asana for free.

https://asana.com/

Argentum

1-Jun-2016, 15:20

you might also want to look at "Customer Relationship Management" software (CRM ). SugarCRM seems to be at the top of most lists and there is a free version.
CRMs are as much about keeping everything about your clients in a client account as they are about marketing. I think it will do what you want unless you are thinking more about time management of your staff but I think you can maybe do that too.

cowanw

1-Jun-2016, 15:40

I am sure that these (previous) are better suggestions but I first thought of computerized medical charting. If that sounds worth it check with OHIP.

RSalles

1-Jun-2016, 15:54

Bob,

Check it out here:

https://sourceforge.net/directory/os:linux/?q=CRM

Cheers,

Renato

Argentum

1-Jun-2016, 16:19

I just installed sugar and it looks pretty good. Definitely worth taking a look at. You can get the "Communuity Edition" for free.

The blue button on the right. The green button is for a trial version which expires unless you pay.

http://www.sugarcrm.com/download

You can definitely upload documents and images but I'm not sure if there is an option to view image thumbnails inside SugarCrm.

It also serves as a marketing tool where you can email all your clients with new services etc.

Argentum

2-Jun-2016, 15:21

That captera site that Melonian posted has a lot of other software categories that may be worth a look as well as project management and CRM

http://www.capterra.com/photography-studio-software/

bear in mind that any cloud based service will require you to upload images to the cloud which if you are working with big high res images might be pretty slow unless you have fast upload speeds from your studio/darkroom/office.

ScottPhotoCo

2-Jun-2016, 15:50

Bob,

I own an advertising agency that deals with clients, partners and vendors from around the globe on very complex assignments that require attention to detail and easy access and tracking at a moments notice. We have been using an on-line application called Basecamp (https://basecamp.com/). It is simple, flexible and you can track/manage and follow projects from anywhere with a few clicks or even on your phone. File management is also simple. We've been using this for 8 years now and are quite happy with how it has worked for us. Happy to give you more info if you'd like. No affiliation whatsoever. Just a satisfied customer.

I do project management for a living and have done so for almost 30 years. Tried and true tools for big and small projects are Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Project. Microsoft Project is really over the top for most applications, so I suggest Microsoft Excel.

There are simple ways to organize multiple projects into a tabular (calendar) or Gantt format.

Microsoft Outlook, or whatever email+calendar program you use, can be used also for scheduling, reminders of key dates, etc.

If you have a server in your business it is easy to share files. If you have SharePoint then you are good to go.

If you don't have a server or don't have SharePoint, then emailing files back and forth or saving them on a USB stick is a rudimentary way to share information. Printing a hardcopy once per week or once every two weeks is also a way to share information.

The most important rule I have learned over the years is: keep it simple.

I would be happy to talk on the phone if you want to get some ideas. c: 610-427-3949

algarzai

5-Sep-2017, 06:13

microsoft sharepoint would be my preferred choice. you can set up folders for different states of the project. bidding, awarded, completed. etc.
Also you can hire people to develop workflows or train yourself. it is not very complex. most importantly, you can leverage the calendar feature for project specific events. and you can use it for many other things other than projects.

salesforce.com is also something i like.

xkaes

5-Sep-2017, 06:42

You should definitely check out Microsoft Project. I have a copy, but have never used it, so I can't report on any personal experience. It first appeared in the DOS days -- before Windows -- and the latest version, I think, is 2016.

Microsoft Project is a project management software product, developed and sold by Microsoft. It is designed to assist a project manager in developing a plan, assigning resources to tasks, tracking progress, managing the budget, and analyzing workloads.

Microsoft Project was the company's third Microsoft Windows-based application, and within a couple of years of its introduction it became the dominant PC-based project management software.

It is part of the Microsoft Office family but has never been included in any of the Office suites. It is available currently in two editions, Standard and Professional. Microsoft Project's proprietary file format is .mpp.

It might be overkill for your needs -- especially the PRO version -- but Microsoft's website has plenty of info and samples for you to examine.

algarzai

6-Sep-2017, 05:30

For my business I use Quick books online to keep track of my financials. I am quite happy with this online program.

What I feel I need is a program that we can access and track all the different projects we are working on. As a gallery and printer we are being commissioned months even year in advance and
keeping track of details on various fronts is getting to become tedious.

Does any one here use a program that two or more people can access , update and garner reports at a moments notice a complete snapshot where each project is. This program should be able to hold not only word documents but as well quotes and also folders which could contain marketing, JPEGs , drawings , layouts and such that are part of customers or special projects.
Almost like a huge journal that can be easily managed and seen.

hope this makes sense.

Bob
Bob
ive been in project management since 2006. i currently run a project office of 8 project managers and 2 coordinators that report directly into myself.

i dont mind setting up a call to understand your requirements in details and help you with it. please PM me

esearing

15-Sep-2017, 12:22

+1 for basecamp. I have used it occasionally to manage long distance clients.